Collections : [West Virginia and Regional History Center]

An 1851 letter to Rebecca Coplin from Harriet Burdett of Pruntytown, West Virginia, on community health, family affairs and Methodist church matters. A merchandise account book, 1859-63, of an unidentified general store owner and inn keeper; steamboat bills of lading for the Kathryn and French of the Little Kanawha Packet Line (Creston-Parkersburg), 1899 and 1905. There are also mimeographed sketches on the history, topography, scenery, agriculture, geology, rural development and natural resources of West Virginia by a Wood County agricultural extension agent, C.R. Titlow.

County court and public records primarily concerning deeds, estates, guardianships, executors, poor and paupers, roads, and "scalp certificates" for various animals. There are also record books, predominantly personal property and land books, and a few private accounts. There is also a breadth of material concerning records of personal property; county courthouse and jail; marriages; liquor, attorney, minister, and professional licenses; apprenticing; surveys and plats; lunacy; court proceedings; elections and voting; and public utilities and taxation.

Papers of Fletcher Brock, a Pennsylvania legislator from Blacksville, and of his family. Mainly correspondence between Fletcher and his son H.W. about medical schools, health problems, and family news. There are also letters to and from Fletcher Brock about local and national political issues such as temperance, slavery, roads, and elections.

Correspondence and financial records of a Gilmer County businessman, gas drilling contractor, schoolteacher, and elementary school principal who was involved also with coal, timber, real estate, and water well businesses. The correspondence concerns Miller's business affairs; dealings with government agencies, such as the Federal Power Commission and the Small Business Administration; applications for teaching positions and graduate schools; tax problems; campaign for a seat on the school board; and dealings with West Virginia politicians. The financial material includes an account of the profits from gas wells. Other subjects include drilling costs and contracts; coal sales; Gilmer County schools and politics; business problems; land sales; road maintenance and construction; and the Consolidated Gas Company. Correspondents include Chauncey Browning, Jr., James Kee, Robert H. Mollohan, Arch Moore, and Hulett Smith.

Five typescripts pertaining to Ice's Ferry and the Ice family. The first typescript is "Ice's Ferry," (8 pp., undated) an account of the Ice family and of Ice's Ferry in Monongalia County, with comments on frontier and pioneer life in western Virginia, apparently written by Virginia H. Conaway of Marion County. The second item is a variant copy of the "Ice's Ferry," typescript (10 pp., undated). The third typescript is a copy of "Historical Notes on Ice's Ferry," written by John L. Johnston (6 pp., 1920). Covering the time span of 1758-1920, the narrative describes early settlements, roads, forts, Indians, industries, land offices, and families prominent in the development of areas near Ice's Ferry. Mention is made of the proposed construction of a dam and recreation area on the Cheat River. The fourth item is a facsimile typescript of "Some of the Earliest History of the Ice Family" (9 pp., undated), which covers roughly 1680 through the 1900s. The fifth typescript is a magazine article facsimile about Adam Ice (1 p., undated).

A letter written to his parents in West Chester, Pennsylvania, describing his travels from Maysville, Kentucky to Natural Bridge, Virginia, on the way to Richmond, Virginia. Everhart vividly describes the conditions he experienced in travel by steamboat and stage and the mountain scenery he passed through. Sites mentioned are Guyandotte, Virginia, Charleston, West Virginia, White and Blue Sulphur Springs, and The Hawk's Nest.

Six page typescript by John L. Johnston, 1920, titled "Historical Notes, Ice's Ferry." Covering the time span of 1758-1920, the narrative locates and describes early settlements; roads; forts; Indian trails, villages and tribes; industries; the land office; and men and families prominent in the development of Monongalia County. Mention is made of the proposed construction of the dam and recreation area on the Cheat River.

Papers of Lewis Maxwell, an attorney at Weston including primarily letters from clients concerning land in West Virginia, 1840-1859. Correspondents include J.H. Diss Debar, John S. Carlile, Matthew Edmiston, J.M. Bennett, and Benjamin H. Latrobe. Other subjects covered include railroad legislation and construction and the surfacing of the Weston-Clarksburg road.

L. Henry Smith (b. circa 1805) was an attorney in Bruceton Mills, Preston County, West Virginia, in the mid-nineteenth century. He and his wife, Martha, had nine children, including Lucian H. Smith (b. circa 1830) and William W. Smith (b. circa 1848). Papers of the L. Henry Smith family chiefly include receipts, bills, notes, and letters from 1823 to 1878 and primarily concern Henry Smith, Lucian Smith, and William Smith, though materials from other family members are included. Box 1 contains financial materials for Jacob Smith from the 1830s and 1840s; receipts for purchases made by Henry Smith between the 1850s and 1870s (mostly for sewing supplies such as fabric, trimmings, and lace); promissory notes; and other financial items. Box 2 contains letters to various members of the Smith family from the 1850s to the 1870s. Topics chiefly include merchandising; Henry Smith's legal and financial matters in Preston County; and news of friends and family in the Bruceton Mills and Uniontown, Pennsylvania, areas. Several letters from the 1860s relate to buying blue cloth to make Civil War uniforms and substitutes in the Union army. Letters from the late 1860s related to West Virginia University, where William Smith was a student. Box 3 contains miscellaneous items primarily related to West Virginia politics in the 1870s and West Virginia Governor John Jeremiah Jacob.